| 09 August 2011
Dana Alexander’s comedy is irreverent and outspoken. As the only black comedienne in Canada, she decided to swap Toronto for Tottenham and has been rolling in the material ever since. Bring on her Edinburgh Fringe debut: New Arrival.
Dana has a very natural and assured manner of delivery, which makes it seem irrelevant that her topics are disjointed - she can smooth over the gaps quite effortlessly. So she goes on, meshing her witty observations and personal anecdotes that are loosely held under the umbrella themes of travel and cultural exchange. These range from her shock at the unflappability of London tube passengers (“his boobs are catching the Doritos, people!”) to the problem of sex pests (aka minors) when you have found yourself to be the only female in a ninety-square-mile radius.
Her jokes are often wickedly funny, but as the show winds down she reaches for the shock tactics far too often, seemingly in the hope of packing in as many cheap laughs as she can muster before the show’s conclusion. Rather than being genuinely funny, though, these gags just feel like cop-outs written when she couldn’t be bothered: a tiny cock thus has its merit “as long as its big enough to wipe away my tears, guys, as long as it can wipe away my tears!” Dana needs to revise her material for this show to become truly entertaining.
Dana Alexander: New Arrival, Cowgate @ Underbelly, 4-28 Aug, 8.00 pm
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